PRODUCT REVIEW: Nike Golf VR_S Covert Fairway Wood

The VR_S Covert line of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons has been very well received by consumers this year — the combination of length, forgiveness, solid feel and striking red finish has made the Covert line a big hit at retail. I can speak for the whole line, I’ve been gaming the Performance driver, 3-wood, 3-hybrid and cast irons all year, and I love the entire line. In my attempt to get caught up on my product reviews, here I share my experience with the Covert fairway wood (you can read my review of the Covert Performance Driver here).

FIRST IMPRESSION: DESIGN/APPEARANCE
Out of the box, I had the same initial impression as the driver — same bright red metallic finish on the crown, same large white swoosh toward the heel — both give this club its very unique appearance. Like on the driver, the Covert name appears as a subtle alignment aid on the top of the club head, and it also has the same sole configuration.

One difference is that the hosel does not feature the FlexLoft adjustability system, it is glued (however the Tour fairway wood model includes the FlexLoft system). The face features Nike Golf’s NexCOR face technology, which makes the edges of the face thinner than the center, resulting in a larger sweet spot. This creates faster ball speeds across a wider area of the face and results in longer shots.

The headcover features the same VR_S Covert design pattern as the driver, with a full sock to protect the shaft. The stock shaft is the Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black (60 gram) and the stock grip is the Nike Tour Velvet by Golf Pride. Overall my first impression of the VR_S Covert fairway wood is one of an attractively designed club built to hit the ball far from a variety of lies.

FIRST IMPRESSION: PERFORMANCE
The first thing I noticed is the Covert’s really solid feel at impact — like the driver I was impressed by the “weight” of the hit, the substantial feel of the club head through the impact zone. The acoustics echoed the feel, the Covert gives a solid “thwack” (almost a “thud”) at impact. This club is solid whether hitting the ball off a tee, off the fairway or out of the rough.

Like the driver, distance and accuracy were outstanding. The Covert fairway is long, as long if not a bit longer than last year’s VR_S fairway, and the NexCOR face technology is responsible for the Covert’s extraordinary distance. Just as significant is the Covert’s accuracy — this fairway wood is very straight, my misses aren’t nearly as off-line and my shots are much more on target. This is due to the Covert’s outstanding stability at impact, caused by the movement of the club head’s mass to the heel and toe, which reduces twisting of the club head at impact.

The Covert fairway also offers excellent forgiveness on mis-hits. Shots struck off-center go straighter and farther, because of the NexCOR face technology’s variable face thickness (thinner the farther you get away from the center) which gives amazing distance on mis-hit shots. The movement of weight to the heel and toe creates perimeter weighting that gives great stability, keeping the club more square when you miss the middle of the face. This creates straighter shots when you put a less than perfect swing on the ball.

I’ve been amazed at how the Covert fairway wood performs. Specifics on performance attributes are detailed in the sections below.

DISTANCE
The Covert fairway is long, as long for me as last year’s VR_S, if not a bit longer. The solidity of the hit is outstanding, and the ball leaves the face like a rocket.

TRAJECTORY
For me the Covert fairway has a medium to high ball flight. It’s not a low, boring trajectory, but the ball doesn’t balloon up in the air either. The medium-high ball flight works well when trying to land the ball on the green from the fairway.

ACCURACY
The Covert is very accurate, and produces very straight shots for me. I’ve already hit a number of memorable shots with this club, putting the ball close to the hole from quite a ways back in the fairway.

PLAYABILITY
The Covert fairway has really good feel, and I can move the ball left or right when I need to. I feel that whenever I want to move the ball to create a certain shot shape, the Covert can produce a solid shot in the direction I want the ball to go.

FORGIVENESS
I found the Covert fairway to be very forgiving on off-center shots — when I mishit a shot the ball goes just about the same distance as shots struck in the middle of the face. My misses are also much straighter with the Covert.

ACOUSTICS
The Covert’s sound at impact is a distinctively solid “thwack” (almost a “thud”), the sound of a very solid shot. There is no tinny aluminum sound or any hint of a “plink” at impact. The improved acoustics is one of this club’s more significant features.

SUMMARY
The VR_S Covert fairway wood is club that looks great and performs even better. Like with the Covert driver, the distance and accuracy I get are outstanding, and the forgiveness on off-center hits is exceptional. The solid feel at impact and superior acoustics were highlights for me. If you’re looking for a new fairway wood, give the VR_S Covert a few swings — you may find yourself putting it straight into your bag.

Read Nike Golf’s press release about the VR_S Covert Fairway Woods and Hybrids >>

Visit the VR_S Covert microsite on nikegolf.com >>

Editor’s note: The product reviewed above was supplied by the manufacturer to the reviewer/author free of charge for reviewing purposes only. The opinions expressed in the review are strictly those of the reviewer/author.

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